Sports Reporter :
New Zealand beat India by eight wickets in their crucial Group-2 match of the ICC T20 World Cup at Dubai International Stadium in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
Chasing India’s paltry total of 110 for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs, New Zealand sailed home making 111 for the loss of two wickets when they had 33 balls to spare.
Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya were the two batsmen of India, who could score notable runs.
Jadeja remained unbeaten with 26. His 19-ball innings was laced with two fours and a sixer.
Hardik Pandya made 23 from 24 balls featuring one four.
Trent Boult of New Zealand captured three wickets at the cost of 20 runs, while Ish Sodhi bagged a pair of wickets in the space of 17 runs.
Besides, Tim Southee and Adam Mine took one wicket each for 26 and 30 runs respectively.
New Zealand had a modest start as opener Martin Guptill (20) was caught at the mid-on by Shardul Thakur off Jasprit Bumrah when New Zealand’s score was 24.
Then, Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson added together 72 runs for the second wicket partnership before Mitchell was caught by KL Rahul off Bumrah when New Zealand’s total was 96 for the loss of two wickets.
Mitchell hit a marvelous 49. His 35-ball innings was decorated with three sixes and four fours.
After Mitchell’s departure, Kane Williamson and Devon Conway guided their team to overhaul the victory target.
Kane Williamson remained unbeaten with 33. He hit three fours in his 31-ball captain’s knock.
Devon Conway remained unbeaten with two runs.
Jasprit Bumrah restored some parity for his country bagging two wickets for 19 runs.
India’s globally acclaimed batting line-up put up another woeful performance to score a paltry 110 for seven against New Zealand, effectively putting them in danger of losing out on a semi-final spot in the ICC T20 World Cup here on Sunday, reports PTI.
New Zealand, the bogey team for India at global events over the years, embarrassed Virat Kohli’s men, who didn’t even show any stomach for a fight after their skipper lost an important toss.
It seemed like a catching practice for the New Zealand team as most of the batters were out in the deep trying to force the pace and failing miserably. There were 54 dot balls which meant that India didn’t score any runs in nine of their 20 overs.
There were no demons on the track but India’s shoddy show with the willow is a consequence of poor team selection, not relying on form players and the failure to have any flexibility in the side, which lacked proper multi-skilled cricketers.
And true to ‘Murphy’s Law’ (it states “anything that can go wrong will go wrong”), it caught up with the team.
For example, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both lost form at the same time. The middle-order, which was a worry, remained so and Hardik Pandya as a batter completely flopped on big days.
But the biggest of them all was how a country whose players are considered champion players of spin bowling looked clueless against the slow stuff.
Just like the Pakistan game, the spinners-left-arm orthodox Mitchell Santner (4-0-15-0) and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (4-0-17-2) – caught India by the scruff of their necks, giving away only 32 runs in eight overs.
India tweaked their batting order but it hardly paid any dividends as there was no firepower in the power play and 40 for 3 within eight overs could have only spelt doom.
Ishan Kishan tried to whip one off Trent Boult (4-0-20-3) but was caught at deep square leg boundary by Santner.
KL Rahul (18) hit a couple of boundaries but not for a moment during his 16-ball stay at the crease did he look confident enough to take on the bowlers.
Tim Southee (4-0-26-1), at the stroke of power play, exposed his problems against short ball as the pull-shot was collected by Santner, who got his second of the night.
Rohit Sharma (14) first got a reprieve with a compulsive pull-shot that was dropped by Adam Milne at backward square leg.
Then, when Milne came into the attack, he slashed one over point for a four and whipped another over square leg for a six. When Ish Sodhi pitched one slightly on the shorter length, he tried to pull it in front of square but was caught by a tumbling Martin Guptill, who judged it well enough to make it 40 for three.
Kohli, who of late is playing the role of an anchor, never got going and during his laboured presence at the wicket only increased the pressure on the team.
Sodhi tossed one conventional leg-break outside the off-stump and the Indian captain, trying to hit against the turn, could only find Boult at the long-on boundary.
Pandya (23 off 24 balls), in his current form, is not a threat for any team and Rishabh Pant, after being kept quiet by the two Black Caps spinners, got one fast and straight from Milne, which breached his defence.
